We just submitted our request for opera tickets at the Staatsoper, and I sure hope we get them. Do you know what time the opera begins? We are trying to see the September 22, 2011 evening performance, and I have no idea what time we should be making a dinner reservation after the show. Or, in the alternative, if the opera begins at 8:00 p.m., like it does here in Los Angeles, we may want to have dinner before the performance.

Any information you can provide about start and end times of Don Giovanni on September 22 as well as the time to request a dinner reservation is very much appreciated. We searched the Staatsoper website for this informantion when we ordered the tickets, but perhaps we were not looking in the correct spot.

Prague: which opera building are you planning to go to? There are 3 theaters not particularly close to each other - the State Opera, the National Theater and the Estates Theater.

Most people go to the National Theater. If this is your case, your best bet would be restaurant V Zatisi, one of the best fine-dining establishments in Prague. You can reserve your table "after the opera" and you can easily walk there in 3-5 minutes (but take a map, the streets are complicated in the old town). Before the theater you can have coffee and snack or cake at the opposite Cafe Slavia or accross the river by the other side of the bridge in Cafe Savoy.

If you go to the State Theater, you can have dinner at the newly opened restaurant Cestr in the dark glass building of the former House of representatives right next to the theater. They are a bit informal and serve meat from a Czech cow variety. They also have wonderful deserts. If you feel like fine dining and don't want to walk far, you can take a taxi to either one of the other establishments mentioned here or hop in the metro to the station Pankrac (red line goes directly there and it's only about 4 stops) to the newly opened restaurant Aureole on the 27th floor with great views and modern fusion food.

From the Estates Theater, your best fine dining bet would probably be the Degustation Boheme Bourgeoise, I guess right now the creme de la creme of the Prague fine dining, but it's priced accordingly. It's a tasting menu restaurant, so you should book your table for "after the opera" and you would get a shorter and cheaper version of the otherwise very long meal.

Oops! Sasicka, I'm so sorry. I saw this posting about the opera and wanted to post my question, but I didn't realize it was for Prague. My mistake! We are trying to get tickets for the Staatsoper in Vienna, and I meant my inquiry to be for Opera in Vienna. So sorry. I loved all of your information, however, and I will consider these venues for dinners (without opera) during my visit in Prague. Thanks for the very complete reply.